Al Wasl boss calls for focus

Matt Jones - Editor 10:16 09/10/2016
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  • Wasl have made a fine start to the season.

    A 3-1 defeat on opening night in the Arabian Gulf League to Al Jazira is the only blot on an otherwise flying start to life in charge of the Cheetahs for the Argentine, but he is demanding more from his players.

    “In the previous matches we had good moments and we made some mistakes as well,” said the ex-Boca Juniors coach.

    “We need to correct these mistakes to be able to keep the good results.”

    Wasl sit top of the Arabian Gulf Cup Group A following three wins and a draw and welcome Al Dhafra to Zabeel Stadium on Sunday night.

    The Western Knights were brushed aside 4-1 in the league encounter at the same venue last month, but Arruabarrena insists this will be a different match against Mohamed Kwid’s visitors.

    “Regardless of any opinions we need to keep working and improving,” he added.

    “Those who are saying good things about the team today might say not very good things later. What matters is what we are doing on the field. And to reach the final we need to improve our performances.”

    The Cheetahs clawed a 2-2 draw in their last AG Cup encounter against Jazira, taking the lead through Caio Canedo before Fabio De Lima equalised after Khalfan Mubarak and Thiago Neves had put the Pride of Abu Dhabi 2-1 ahead.

    Dhafra boss Kwid, meanwhile, believes his side are nearly at the same level as Jazira and Wasl.

    “The first group of the league is a foggy one and after that there’s no big gap between Al Dhafra and Al Jazira, Sharjah and Al Wasl. We are nearly as good as each other,” he said.

    The affable Kwid knows the Western Knights will have to keep De Lima and Caio in check after the deadly Brazilian duo scored three goals between them in the 4-1 league defeat.

    “Al Wasl’s key players are well known to me, the team depend on the strong attack of their foreign players such as De Lima, Caio and (Helder) Barbosa,” he added.

    “I am asking my players to put great pressure upon them and isolate them in order to achieve a good result.”

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